Eight Million

The minute the weather warms up in New York you are swiftly reminded that you share this city with eight million people. I decided to do my ride in Central Park to avoid having to do nine boring loops of Prospect Park. I waited until about 10:30 to give the weather a chance to warm up, but this also gave all the tourists and seemingly everyone in the five boroughs a chance to make their way to Central Park. To say it was crowded would be an understatement.

I rode from Brooklyn to Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge. I had a little trouble figuring out the approach, but once on the bridge it was incredible. There is a bike-only path and the views are amazing. After that it was just madness all the way to Central Park. I battled lower Manhattan traffic and the sea of humanity on the Hudson River path.

The park was crazy too so it limited what I could do on this ride. It was over an hour before I was able to get into aero and I couldn't stay in for long. There were just too many obstacles, too much braking. But I made the most of it. I was happy to have my bike back, happy to be outside and happy to feel as comfortable as I did. Little by little I'm getting over the fear and regaining my confidence.

To avoid more slow city riding I decided to finish the ride in the park and take the train back to Brooklyn. I had a short ride from the train and immediately headed out for my run. I went to Red Hook and used the run to check out the neighborhood. It was so much fun. There is this great spot along the water with incredible views of the Verrazano Bridge, Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan. After 11 years in New York City, finding things that are new and surprising is rare.


The run felt really good. My legs weren't heavy or tired and I kept a good pace. It was faster than what my schedule called for, but it felt ok and I was careful not to push too hard. It's so great to be training again.

Biking
Distance - 34.7 miles
Time - 2:18:10

Running
Distance - 4 miles
Time - 33:04